To the above tools may be added, if desired, one or two small tooling irons of simple design for blind tooling. Such irons are used just hot enough to hiss very slightly when touched with a wet cloth, and are pressed firmly and evenly on the leather for two or three seconds to leave a good impression.
Books bound in boards, with cloth or paper backs, may be rebacked with cloth, parchment, or even with heavy paper in facsimile of the original back. In the latter case, it is advisable to line the back with a strip of Japan vellum, which should extend over upon the boards under the new paper back. Parchment is often satisfactory and requires no paring, but must be handled carefully when damp from paste, or it will stretch out of shape.
Translated From Bonnardot
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MODERN LEVANT BINDING
Not having the secret of that special, certain skill which produces flexible and artistic bindings, I am obliged to advise amateurs who wish to see their books reclad in princely mantles, to apply to our able Parisian binders. But I can give, from my own experience, some good suggestions to amateurs on the manner of cleaning, repairing and freshening ordinary morocco bindings, and also, under certain conditions, those sumptuous moroccos of the Levant, the mere perfume of which fascinates all true-born bibliophiles.
CLEANING THE COVER. It is possible, without being obliged to touch the boards of a book, to clean and repair the covering, either entirely or in spots. To accomplish this, I know some methods which are simple and practical, although, of course, too imperfect to restore to an ancient binding all the brightness and vigor of its youth. A rather mature prima-donna may, perhaps, withincertain limits, soften the ravages of time; but, when observed closely, the lines on her face cannot be concealed. And this is also the case with the coquettish old bindings of which I speak.
Morocco or calf which has become soiled by constant handling may be cleaned with a fine sponge dipped in a jelly of white soap. If there are spots of oil or grease, this soap will not suffice; it will be necessary to use black soap, or perhaps a weak solution of some alkali, such as potash or ammonia. In using such alkalis, it is best to first try them on some odd pieces of leather of the same color or upon some part of the bindings not likely to be noticed, because certain colors in leather are apt to decompose or change their tint under the action of an alkali. It has been observed that alkalis tend to darken the leather, more or less; therefore, after employing them, a little acidified water must be applied to neutralize their effect. Also that morocco should be moistened only very slightly, as, otherwise, the surface grain may be smoothed away.
One might begin by trying benzine; this liquid will not attack any color or, at least, only a color formed principally of fatty or resinous substances. Benzine does not act like an alkali; it does not saponify the greasy body, but it dissolves it as water dissolves a salt, a gum or gelatine. It must be used quickly, as it evaporates much more rapidly than ammonia, which itself is consideredvolatile. The latter will mix with water, but benzine combines only with alcohol.
Thus benzine, like all other essential oils, operates only as a dissolvent and, after having been applied, either pure or mixed with alcohol, upon the book cover, it must be wiped off with a soft cloth before it evaporates, so that the particles of grease which it has dissolved, but not decomposed, will not sink again into the leather and later reappear on its surface.
The best method, after having poured some drops of the liquid upon one side of the book, is to turn this side toward the ground. In this position the benzine, charged with part of the greasy substance, will run down and accumulate upon the lowest edge of the cover, from which it can quickly be wiped off with the substances it holds in solution. Perhaps an even better method of operation may be discovered.
This manner of employing benzine, alcohol or turpentine as dissolvents for the greasy body is equally applicable for removing oily spots from prints, and I recommend it to the reader for experiment. When grease is removed with alkaline water, it is useless to proceed in this manner; the soapy substance which forms on the leather after rubbing should be removed with a damp sponge, after which the book should be dried in the air and then placed under pressure.
Fresh spots of oil or grease may sometimes be removed by impalpable powders of some clay-like nature, absorbent and slightly alkaline.
A spot of ordinary black ink upon morocco, sheepskin, calf or smooth parchment, loses its color when touched with a few drops of sorrel salt or oxalic acid; but I will repeat here the advice already given that these substances may alter certain colors and that it is best to first try them on extra pieces of leather. If the tint lightens or changes only slightly, the spot can be retoned and brightened simply with properly mixed water-colors, after having neutralized, with an alkali, the traces of the acid.
The yellowish spot which remains after the black ink has disappeared is not very noticeable upon brown or yellowish skins, but on vellum or parchment it is more or less apparent. How can this be removed? For if one is obliged to prolong the action of the oxalic acid on the iron oxide which causes it, this portion of the skin not only loses its gloss, but also becomes subject to a more or less rapid process of dissolution.[10]
When the spots are of Chinese ink, old or recent, and have sunk into the texture, as sometimes happens, they resist all known agents.
Most of the old bindings which have been long exposed for sale on the parapets of our quays, have been at one moment roasted by an ardent sun and at the next distended by a damp atmosphere; they have, therefore, contracted “skin troubles” more or less curable according to the duration of their ordeal. The gentler regimen of the bookshelves, placed in a room where the temperature is more nearly uniform, sometimes suffices to restore their warped covers; but when the surface of the leather has fallen off in scales, carrying away the gold tooling, it is better, if they are worthy of it, to deliver them to the binder for new covers; that is, of course, when the paper, the essential organ of their existence, is not musty beyond recovery. If the paper is in bad shape, the book is lost or, at least, is beyond giving pleasure to a bibliophile; it resembles a very old man attacked by an incurable disease; it is useful only for reference.
Some books, placed in less rude conditions, have only the skin stripped here and there by contact with rougher neighbors trimmed with nails or clasps, with hard boards or with wicker-work, but movement against these objects might ruin an entire library in a single day. The library of the Louvre, it might be mentioned, was being moved last spring to a new location, by means of these wickerbaskets so formidable despite the straw or oakum with which they were lined. Some of my own books have passed several times through this fatal ordeal and have suffered greatly from it. Now when I change my residence I use, with rather tardy precaution, well-planed boxes.
Books slightly roughened, their bloom destroyed simply by friction, may be freshened and restored to an aspect of health to conceal, up to a certain point, the wear of their old coverings. With an old glove one may spread over their surface a little flour paste or fairly thick starch to which a little alum might be added. This is smeared quickly over the back, sides and edges of the boards, and the surplus wiped off with a soft cloth. This carries away any dust which may have been deposited and also soilings which soften in the moisture.[11]
After this operation, there will remain on the volume a thin coating of gelatine or of gluten (the viscous part of the starch). Before this has entirely dried, it should be thoroughly wiped over with the palm of the hand. Any scraped portions of the leather will have a dull appearance and will sometimes show darker than other parts of the cover. The edges of stripped or broken spots may berefastened to the cover by means of the starch sizing. The corners which, nearly always, will be found worn or bent, may be straightened and strengthened. In a word, if the cover cannot be restored to pass as new, it may at least be rendered more presentable and made to contrast more favorably with other books it may meet upon the shelf.
After a washing with starch, as after cleaning with alkalis, it often happens that the covers of a book are dulled. Their polish, where the bloom has not been worn away, can be restored by rubbing with a piece of flannel moistened with a few drops of very siccative varnish (purchased from art dealers or dealers in bookbinders’ materials).
Most amateurs and binders know this inexpensive way of restoring a certain lustre to faded and erupted, if one may use that expression, bindings. If I have spoken rather in detail, it is for the sake of amateurs still inexperienced or living in a small, provincial town. As these latter probably would not know where to procure varnish, I offer the recipe of M. F. Mairet, which indicates the proportions for a large quantity but which may be divided by ten. In the thirty-ninth part of his “Essay Upon Binding” he says: Dissolve eight ounces of sandarach (resin), two ounces of mastic in drops, eight ounces of gum-lac in tablets and two ounces of Venetian turpentine, in three litres (quarts) of spirits of wine at atemperature of thirty-six to forty degrees.[12]Crush the gums and, to completely dissolve them, place the bottle which contains them in the wine, in hot water, shaking it from time to time. This varnish can be preserved in the bottle in which it is made, keeping the bottle tightly corked. When one wishes to use the varnish, the bottle should not be shaken because of the deposit which forms.
I will here make a recommendation analogous to that of M. Le Normand; it is desirable to place the glass bottle in a basin containing warm water before placing it in the very hot water, as otherwise it may break. Also, instead of shaking the bottle, the contents may be stirred with a glass rod.
This is how M. Mairet describes the use of his varnish; with a very soft brush, the varnish is spread over the covers of the book without putting it on the gilding. When it is nearly dry, it is polished with a piece of white cloth slightly moistened with olive oil. It should first be rubbed gently, then with more force as the varnish dries. For complete success it is essential that the covers be perfectly dry[13]and without the slightest dampness.
Instead of using this varnish, one may give a fair polish which, however, is not so enduring, by coating with the liquid known as “glaire.” This is made from the white of an egg beaten up with a little water andalcohol.[14]One might also try a glaze made with hide glue or gum-arabic.
The lustre of white vellum or of calf, when they have not been badly rubbed by use, may be restored by rubbing with an agate burnisher, a polished bone or a curved iron slightly warmed. Sometimes, before polishing, according to M. Le Normand, the covers should be rubbed with flannel holding a little tallow or walnut oil.[15]Great care should be taken in polishing morocco, whether genuine or imitation, in order that the grain which contributes so much to its beauty may not be rubbed away. The surface of sheep also, which is a very delicate leather, is easily stripped. To polish leathers such as these, binders’ varnish or, at least, the glaire mentioned above, should be used.
REPAIRING HOLES AND BROKEN SURFACES. We will now consider any serious wounds which go deeper than the surface of the leather. One often sees covers of calf, sheep or morocco deeply stripped or even pierced like the coats of Diogenes and Ruy-Blas; the back,the sides and corners, especially the lower ones, broken away even to the point of exposing the boards. This is a state of cynicism which calls for some remedy; the simple smearing on of starch is powerless to heal such damages.
It is often possible to restore missing fragments by means of new pieces of the same kind and tint of leather. I will assume that the amateur possesses a collection of odd scraps of morocco, brown calf, old vellum, etc., removed with more or less right from books whose pages have been unfortunately ruined, to be devoted to more humiliating uses. These should be searched for a suitable piece; sometimes this is found. The essential point is to match the grain of the leather. When the tint is too light, it can easily be darkened with water-colors; when it is too dark, one must search further. One may, however, lighten a little piece of calf which is too dark by means of very weak acid.
Suppose the desired patch found. The hole or broken place in the cover is cleaned and the edge cut sharp to prevent further tearing, and in this is set a piece from the patch, cut exactly to fit. If the amateur has not time to do this careful mosaic patching, he may, with a small, thin blade, raise the edges of the leather about the hole and, applying paste or glue directly to the board, slip in a patch piece which has been roughly cut a little larger than the hole and pared thin around the edges. The edges of the hole should then be moistened with paste and firmlypressed down into place over the patch. A patch made in this way is less agreeable to the eye than when made by the first process, for by this latter method there always remains a sort of raised pad which accents the form of the hole.
Let us consider now the repair of bruises, more or less deep, caused by rough contact with some hard, sharp or rough body.
When the stripped parts are still hanging to the cover, they should be straightened out and pressed back into place after being given a light coat of thick starch paste. But if the stripped parts corresponding to the bruise are missing, how shall the furrow, which reveals a spongy appearance, be brought up level with the surface of the cover? With a corresponding patch inserted in the fissure? This is an operation, I think, very difficult to carry out, and it is simpler to cut the furrow into a definite hole if one wishes to proceed in this way. Let us try and imagine some kind of putty for such repairs.
I do not wish to write hastily of any method of procedure for the fabrication of bruised leather, but it seems to me that a paste or putty formed of powdered or shredded leather, boiled with a little flour paste, would answer our purpose. With this one could fill up the furrow and then, when the paste has dried, scrape off the excess surface and burnish the dried inlay. This method should answer very well, but there is still another whichI have tried, although it is not so delicate. I employed flour paste mixed simply with Spanish white.[16]With this, I puttied up my book like a picture in process of being retouched. I even succeeded, with this paste, in imitating the grain of the morocco. I tinted the patches by applying color mixed with gum. But this sort of repair is only applicable to parts of the cover away from the edges; in the neighborhood of the hinges, this unelastic paste will break loose or, at least, render the book difficult to open.
I experimented also with gutta-percha. This brownish substance has the property, at a certain temperature (towards seventy degrees)[17]of melting and adhering to the leather and, on cooling, recovers its natural, semi-elastic state. But after having been melted at a fire or, if the season is right, by sunlight through a lens, it turns brown and will not harmonize in tint except with very dark calf, and I have found no method of lightening it.
We will now speak of repairing and patching the cover in those parts which serve as hinges. This is an operation practicable only when a substance very thin and supple can be found. I have succeeded in restoring this part of a book by using a strip of gold-beaters skin, slipped between the back and the side and fastened, on one part, to the edge of the side and, on the other, to the boardslining the back. I then gave to this skin a tint corresponding to that of the cover. The break remained visible; I only reconnected the parts so that the book could be opened and closed.[18]
Would one succeed better by using a thin piece of rubber? I have never tried this, but this substance, I believe, could not be obtained in very thin sheets except by being considerably stretched, a process which would soon destroy the elasticity which is its essential quality. Perhaps the broken hinges of a dark calf book could be joined without great difficulty by means of the liquefied gutta-percha mentioned above.
I have sometimes repaired the corners of a volume with more or less success. In cases where the damage was slight, after having loosened the paper on the inside of the cover at the corner, either with, or without, moisteningit, I pushed back the damaged skin for a short distance, then glued upon the board over the corner a fragment of leather of the same kind and tint, pared thin, then pressed down the rough edges and fashioned the new corner by moistening the leather. Then, having replaced the broken edges of the original leather, I recolored the patch to an exact match.[19]
When the leather at the corner is entirely dilapidated an entirely new corner of triangular form should be supplied, pasted down level with the leather on the cover, which has been cut away smoothly where the new corner is joined on. If the corner of the board is itself tattered, it can be stiffened by the use of paste or glue, thoroughly soaked in and left to dry. A little Spanish white might be added to the paste to give it more solidity.
But when the angle of the corner is entirely rounded, weakened and demolished by use, it should be renewed by incorporating an entirely new corner on the board. To fasten this securely, the edge of the board should be cut across at an angle of forty-five degrees, then split, and the upper half cut away for a short distance back. The new triangular piece for the corner is also notched underneathto correspond so that the two patches will superimpose and exactly fit. Here one makes use of strong paste or glue. This operation is not difficult but it requires time and patience, for a considerable amount of leather must be raised from the board and then replaced. If one is not endowed with patience, it is better to turn this work over to a binder, otherwise one will work to no purpose and will damage his book instead of restoring it.
REPAIRING EDGES. To remove a spot of ink or color from the edges of a book, the substance described for similar operations on pages or prints may be used. However, there is this distinction; here one is not concerned with the surface of a single sheet but with a great many page-edges one after another. If the edges to be cleaned are not placed under pressure, the liquids, penetrating between them, will stain the pages themselves. If, however, the ink itself has thus spread into the pages, it might be desirable to send the dissolving liquid over the same route. In this case, it will be necessary to efface from each page the moisture following the application of the remedy, and this requires careful work.
If, on the contrary, the spot soils merely the surface of the edges, the volume should be placed under pressure in such a position that the edges to be cleaned stand vertical; then, with a small brush, the necessary liquid may be applied. The spot removed (supposing that it is of anature which may be decomposed) it is necessary, in some cases, to restore the general tint of the edges; this is not a very difficult matter, at least when they are not marbled. When the edges are gilt, the gold is not usually attacked and naturally resists the action of the chemical agents; the ink or other spot can thus be removed without necessitating the restoration of the gold afterward. A spot may sometimes be removed with a dampened sponge.[20]Even Chinese ink, a black which will not decompose, is often susceptible to this gentle procedure by means of which it may be wiped away.
Let us now suppose that the edges are free from spots but that they are faded, and partly discolored. It is easy enough to brighten the colors if they are not too complicated; I will add; and provided the pages are not unequal, with some advanced and some drawn back, destroying the general level, for, in this case, it is necessary to begin by repairing the back without separating the volume; an almost impossible operation.[21]The color brightened, it may be repolished with an agate burnisher while the edges are held closely pressed together. If edges, not colored, but gilt, have been damaged here and there by use, perfect restoration is impracticable. A new patch of gold applied over the worn spot contrasts infreshness and polish with the rest of the surface and, at the points where it necessarily overlaps the perfect parts, the excess gold remains noticeable. Undoubtedly, the best procedure is to have the whole surface regilded by aprofessionalgilder.
If one has gone to the trouble of brightening the edges, one may desire to complete the restoration by renewing the head-bands. I have never had patience enough to make a head-band, a kind of needle-work which belongs particularly to the bookbinders’ trade. The amateur should have recourse to a binder for this or, if he wishes to attempt the work himself, consult any of the books published on binding.
RESTORING THE GILDING.[22]It is sometimes necessary to brighten, patch and partially replace the gilt ornaments of a precious book. In cleaning a book, as I have described above, with soap-jelly or starch paste, the gold is not affected if the operation is carried out according to directions; on the contrary, one lifts from the gold the deposit of dirt which deadens its brilliancy. But if it has been, at some points, destroyed by the breaks in the leather,it is necessary, in order to restore the gold, to refinish the leather at the broken point. Here a considerable difficulty presents itself, and it is necessary to find a filler which will serve as a base. Gutta-percha will not answer at such points, except for cold gilding, as the application of a warm gilding iron would liquefy it. The only satisfactory solution is to inlay with leather.
I have sometimes succeeded in restoring missing spots of gilding by the simple employment of gilt paint, laid with a fine brush upon the properly prepared patch, imitating carefully each missing part of the ornamentation. This kind of joining, however, lacks brilliance and solidity; wiping with a damp sponge is sufficient toeffectit; but it may be given a little more permanency by a coat of binders’ varnish.
I can suggest a less imperfect method of procedure. Where there are thin lines or figures such as circles to join, the amateur can do this with home-made tools. Such tools may be made of small brass wire, some straight edges and others curved like gouges.[23]He should also have small dots of various sizes, circular or oval in profile. With these simple elements, most line designs may be patched. The ground properly prepared, the warm iron tool to be used is applied upon fragments of gold-leaf.The iron should be a little hotter than boiling water; otherwise it will not fix the gold in place. If too hot, it will burn the leather. Gilders test the heat of an iron by touching it with a wet finger, and are able to tell, by the sizzle and amount of vapor given off, whether the degree of heat is right. A more simple method, for the amateur, is to try the iron on a fragment of leather.[24]The excess of gold not pressed in by the iron may be wiped off with a fragment of woolen cloth.
If it is necessary to restore a complicated ornament upon an ancient and very precious binding, special irons must be cut, using the tooling still in place as a guide. With patience and skill, one may fashion these for himself. The required ornamentation is traced from another spot where it is still intact on the binding, with a brush holding resin varnish or wax. This tracing, which naturally leaves an imprint in reverse, is applied to a piece of copper, and the design retouched on the copperwith the same varnish or wax.[25]The other faces of the cube or cylinder of copper used are coated, and the copper placed in a bath of azotic acid. The acid will eat the metal not protected as above, leaving the ornament standing out in relief, something after the manner of a stereotype plate. Or, the electro-chemical procedure of stereotyping may be used to the same end.
By the aid of a form obtained in some such manner as the above, it is possible to restore the effaced ornaments, provided that the leather is prepared to receive and hold the gold. Let me note in passing that it is difficult for inexperienced amateurs to set gold smoothly; only long practice will make this possible. Necessarily, the very thin gold leaf always covers and reaches beyond the spot to be tooled. It is essential that the iron be pressed exactly upon the spot intended to receive it, which is very difficult to accomplish. Moreover, the gold must be kept smooth and fresh over the entire impression. Perhaps one might substitute for the gold leaf a coat of gold powder spread over the design, which should be coated with albuminous paste (glaire) to hold the powder.
One sometimes wishes, also, to rectify a defective title or erroneous date on the binding. The simplest method is to stamp the desired lettering or date on an odd bit of leather, which is then applied to the book. The amateurmay do this himself if he has the necessary letter, a form to hold them, and a certain amount of skill.
Suppose a case where, in a title anciently gilt and which one wishes to preserve, there is a single letter or a single character to change. It is first necessary to efface the letter or character to be replaced. To do this, it is touched with a drop of alcohol; on wiping it, the varnish which may have covered the gold is removed. If the gold resists thorough rubbing, chemical compositions may be tried. I would not advise, however, the use of aqua-regia, the infallible dissolvent of gold, because it would disorganize the leather. I think that a drop of mercury, applied hot upon a letter by means of an iron or sunrays through a lens, would absorb and amalgamate the metallic particles. In any case, there would still remain a moulded impression which might be removed, I think, by swelling the leather at that spot by means of a jet of steam applied through a very narrow glass tube.[26]
The impression effaced, or at least reduced, one may proceed to replace the corrected letter. For this, a letter or figure matching the others in size and character must be secured. Sometimes it is necessary for the amateur to make this himself. This can be done by securing afragment of rolled copper and, with the aid of small pincers, fashioning the profile of the desired letter on its edge. The thickness of the metal would form the thickness of the letter’s face; strokes required slender may be pared with a knife. With a little care and skill, the desired character may be produced. The bit of metal is then set in a handle of plaster or clay, which is allowed to dry and harden.
TRANSFERRING ANCIENT COVERS. Is it possible to transfer the covers of works richly bound, but valueless inside, to the boards of other books more precious in their text and more deserving of the transferred binding? Some of our binders have replied in the affirmative.
Many a volume has retained virginal the splendour of its original binding simply because the text has been tiresome and insipid. In this class appear certain volumes of indigestible theology, “Sacred works and not to be touched,” as Voltaire remarked, and those odes of court-flattery, insipidly rhymed in doggerel, in aristocratic liveries, addressed to high personages who paid for them but who never read them. From books of such sorts, one may, without remorse, lift the precious coverings. However, to make use of them, it is necessary that all their dimensions correspond with the new volumes on which it is proposed to place them. The old books in good conditionare easily despoiled when there is no need to be careful of the cording, the fly leaves or the boards. The process requiring the most time is that of scraping away the dry paste which adheres here and there to the inside of the leather after its removal. I have re-covered more than one quarto in covers of gold tooled vellum lifted from books of the same format. When the back was too narrow or too wide, I replaced this part, but then the cover was formed of three pieces. When the back was of the right width, I effaced the old title, generally lettered in ink, by means of sorrel-salt, and inscribed the new title in the same place but with Chinese ink. Where the old title happened to be gilt, I covered it with a new piece of skin, finding it too laborious to efface all the letters by the process mentioned above.
Let us suppose it is necessary to replace upon a rare volume, changing only the boards, the old contemporary binding which covered it. If the skin is worn on the edges and corners and at the hinges, removing it without injury from the old boards is a very delicate operation. However, it may be done, even without moistening the leather, by using the skill and patience which both come from practice. Our binders, in cases where expense has not been in consideration, have executed more than one feat of this kind. Only, nearly always, they are obliged to renew the parts injured by use and the end papers. They apply, here and there, to the new boards bits ofleather matching the tint of the old, reset the preserved cover, still charged with the rich ornaments which constitute its value and, upon the portions renewed, restore the gilding after the model of that which they have before them. More than one binder has succeeded, with great skill, in placing upon a new foundation the splendid cover of a very rare book without being obliged to go to the regrettable extreme of a second sewing and trimming. It is even possible, with the exercise of great care, to clean the sheets, one by one, and repair the torn and missing places, without separating the book; but one can see that such restorations are a matter of expense and not suitable except for books of considerable value. I believe that there exist in Paris binders of sufficient skill to replace a cover “in octavo,” transposing it without injury to the volume and without leaving the least trace of this difficult operation.
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SOLANDER SLIP-CASE
In Chapter Thirteen of hisEssai, Bonnardot remarks:
“When one sees upon the table in a public shop, a rare book roughly sewn, ignobly deteriorated and, especially, badly cut down, either too much or unevenly, one may believe that it has passed, at some period, through the hands of a provincial bookbinder or of one of our Parisian binders of the lower order, who consider it proper to wrap up a typographical monument of the Louis XII period in a way to strike off about nineteen-twentieths of its value.
“I know of no species of vandals worse, more primitive or more irresponsible than these botchers. But one can see how they are sometimes impelled, in spite of a natural taste, to commit these ravages. After considerable discussion, a person may offer them about 75 centimes ($0.15), more or less, for a piece of work which, if done with care, should well be worth eight or ten times that amount. The natural and inevitable punishment caused by this penny-pinching, is the almost total depreciation ofa book placed in the care of an easy-going bibliophile who, with a light heart condemns his old friend to a binding limited in price to 75 centimes.
“The provincial bookbinder whose work, with its dirty, warped boards, simpers under a covering of sheep still hairy and spotted with patches of ink, is in much the same class as a cheap glazer and gilder to whom an amateur iconophile might naively send for restoration a rare Albert Durer; and both these similar to an architect who, with blind decision, would be sent to mutilate the flanks of some majestic cathedral. This redoubtable trio, born enemies of souvenirs engraved in stone or upon paper, botch and destroy, although perhaps without malice, at least three-fourths of anything on which they operate. May these tardy remarks still save something from the ruins!
“The most irremediable of the crimes which can be committed in rebinding a small, old book, is the trimming of margins. The simple matter of a centime’s economy in the size of the boards, may direct the trimming of some charming gothic quarto up to the very text. One may thrice exclaim with joy when the text itself has not been cropped. Those who partly realize, or divine by instinct, that margins are good for something, sometimes take pains to preserve them, but trim them with an inequality so shocking that the victim has only escaped Charybdis in order to fall upon Scylla. Undoubtedly, the greatest merit of a rare book is to have untrimmed margins or, atleast, margins trimmed only slightly and evenly. But to obtain evenness, it is not proper to cut huge slices in order to square the edges; such zeal for symmetry easily might result in cutting into the text. The best method for squaring a book which was unevenly cut when previously bound, is to refold and equalize each sheet before any further trimming is done; a long and detailed operation for which one pays, not in centimes but in francs.”
Bonnardot goes on from the above, very pointed remarks, to describe various operations of rebinding, with an idea of assisting bibliophiles who are too far from the centres of civilization to get in touch with a good binder. For detailed information along these lines, which hardly come within the scope of the present volume, books written especially on the subject of binding should be consulted.
It is very difficult to execute a satisfactory binding without going through a long period of practice and apprenticeship. And this work not only includes several long and dreary operations, such as sewing, which the average bibliophile would not have the time or patience to undertake, but also requires a number of bulky tools and presses, out of place except in a shop or work-room. Any book in serious need of rebinding is better placed in the hands of an experienced binder, preferably one who specializes in individual bindings. With the book, written directions may be sent, when distance renders personal consultation impossible.
As nine-tenths of all binders, even today, still practice many careless methods against which bibliophiles have protested for centuries, it is desirable, in any case, both as a precaution and as a practical help and reminder to the binder, to furnish, with each book to be bound, complete written instructions for the work. With the written directions, a sketch of the book may be furnished, giving details of the design of tooling wanted, except in cases where it is known that this matter may safely be left to the good taste of the binder. If many books are sent to the same binder, however, suggestions on finish and tooling may very well be made. Sometimes these may prove of interest to the binder himself. The reason for such suggestions is that nearly every binder has certain set personal conventions, especially in the matter of tooling construction, causing, in all his bindings, a certain uniformity of design. Although this may be varied by the different selection of the actual tools used and the colors of the leather, it becomes monotonous in its general construction and damages the visible personality of the individual volumes.
A form of direction sheet, which will, of course, vary with varying requirements, follows.
TITLE. In gilt on back.THEENEMIESOFBOOKS———WilliamBladesDATE. In gilt at bottom of back. 1880COVER. Full, dark brown pebbled morocco, best quality Turkey. Full grain, not crushed.TOP. Gilt top. Please trim as little as possible.EDGES. Do not trim or cut bottom or fore edges.[27]TOOLING. Gilt line borders on sides near edges, with corner ornaments; use geometrical design ornaments if you have them, rather than flowers. Panels on back.SEWING. Sew flexible on flat bands with leather back glued direct to the lining of signatures. Please donot saw into backs of signatures for bands or cords.[28]END PAPERS. Plain light brown or white.[29]SPECIAL. Be sure and place clean sheets of paper over the etched illustrations whenever the book is in press. The original wrappers now on are considerably torn and are very brittle. Please mount these as well as you can, on thin, strong paper, and bind them in at the back.
TITLE. In gilt on back.
THEENEMIESOFBOOKS———WilliamBlades
DATE. In gilt at bottom of back. 1880
COVER. Full, dark brown pebbled morocco, best quality Turkey. Full grain, not crushed.
TOP. Gilt top. Please trim as little as possible.
EDGES. Do not trim or cut bottom or fore edges.[27]
TOOLING. Gilt line borders on sides near edges, with corner ornaments; use geometrical design ornaments if you have them, rather than flowers. Panels on back.
SEWING. Sew flexible on flat bands with leather back glued direct to the lining of signatures. Please donot saw into backs of signatures for bands or cords.[28]
END PAPERS. Plain light brown or white.[29]
SPECIAL. Be sure and place clean sheets of paper over the etched illustrations whenever the book is in press. The original wrappers now on are considerably torn and are very brittle. Please mount these as well as you can, on thin, strong paper, and bind them in at the back.
The price for this work may be agreed on beforehand, but it is better left to the binder, in order that he will not feel cramped, should the necessity of a little unforeseen work develop. Whatever their other failings may be, binders are generally honest in such matters and are not likely to overcharge, especially on average work.
This may be a good place to remark, perhaps needlessly, that valuable books, particularly first editions, should always be retained in their original covers, whether cloth, boards or leather, whenever this is at all practicable. Ancient books in their original calf or sheep, but with broken backs or hinges, and requiring attention for their proper preservation, should be rebacked rather than rebound.
The reasons for this are numerous. Principally, the fact that a book is still in its original binding is a fair guarantee that it has not been trimmed since it originally left the binder’s hands. It often happens, also, that books containing rare plates have the plates foxed or otherwise damaged, and it is sometimes possible, in rebinding such books, to substitute for the injured plates other perfect ones, in exact facsimile, from some later edition of the same book. Suspicion of this, or of other tampering, can generally be avoided when such books appear still in the original binding.
There is, moreover, a sentimental attraction in early issues of books in their original state, since, in most cases, they thus appear as they formerly did to their author, perhaps even in some special color or design of binding which he himself selected. Original bindings having a stamped design possess a more or less individual decoration, perhaps from the hand of some well-known artist. Aubrey Beardsley, for instance, prepared a number of such bookdecorations; many of the volumes issued in 1894-95 by John Lane of London, have cover designs by this artist and these, especially when accompanied by a Frontispiece of Title design by the same hand, are often equal in interest to the text of the book itself. Of special interest from the standpoint of originality are the Japanese-like fabrics used in binding some of the first editions of books by Lafcadio Hearn. Whether specially decorated or not, however, the original binding is part of the individuality of a book and cannot be removed without destroying a certain part of its interest.
In the case of valuable books which are, for one reason or another, seldom referred to, or unique or presentation copies, it is a good practice to make slight essential repairs without disturbing the binding and to order, from an experienced binder, a book-shaped slip-case in which the volume may be preserved in its original covers without being subject to further wear or to injury from dust.
A fairly valuable book which must be rebound, should never be bound in calf or sheep, as these leathers, even when of the best quality, are very perishable. Sheep bindings, sometimes three hundred years old, may still be occasionally met with in remarkably solid condition. But the secret of such leather tanning seems to have been lost, and the modern sheep or calf binding cannot be counted on, even under the most favorable conditions, for more than one-tenth that length of time. In certain climates,parchment or vellum makes a durable binding which, with age, acquires a beautiful, ivory-like surface tone; but these skins will warp the boards unless the book is kept closely set in on the shelf. Turkey morocco is durable when well tanned, as it usually is. The best leather, for appearance and endurance, and also the most expensive, is red levant morocco. For efficiency and richness, although this is a matter on which tastes vary, it is best left “uncrushed” or, at least, only lightly pressed.
The best moroccos are those tanned entirely “acid-free,” or as nearly so as possible. “Niger” morocco, native tanned on the banks of the Niger River in Africa, and imported into England, is an acid-free leather used for expensive bindings. This leather is rather hard to secure, but its desirability is indicated by the fact that it is the only leather on which the severe tests described in the Report of the Committee on Leather for Bookbindings, elsewhere mentioned, had no effect.